This invention relates to the field of collapsible containers of resilient sheet material, comprising interconnected panels to form the bottom and peripheral side walls. Typical of such devices found in the prior art are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,130 to Jorgensen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,397 to Donovan et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,060 to Barkan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,650 to Hoffman et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,283 to Taylor.
In accordance with the present invention, a collapsible container is provided which has inflatable panels to form the bottom and side walls, each panel being integrally joined to one or more panels along fold lines, whereby when inflated the panels each assume a flat configuration having substantially planar wall surfaces and when folded along the fold lines to an angular position with respect to each adjoining panel, they form bottom and peripheral side walls. An additional panel may be joined to one of the side walls to form a top wall or openable cover for the box. Thus, the collapsible container in accordance with this invention may be folded into a small unit when deflated, and when inflated it may be formed into a box of substantial dimension and storage capacity. In addition, when inflated with air the panels have good insulating characteristics making the container particularly useful as an ice chest. It is particularly useful for such purposes as fishing trips, where a large water-tight insulated chest is needed to transport a catch of fish on the way home, but where space is at a premium on the way to the fishing location making a collapsible chest which can be folded into a small compact unit highly desirable.
None of the prior art devices satisfy these objectives as well as the present invention, nor do they combine all of the features of the inflatable foldable box in accordance with the present invention.